1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data transmission apparatus having a fingerprint reader and a method thereof. Particularly, it relates to a data transmission apparatus having a fingerprint reader and a method thereof capable of remotely controlling an electrical device.
2. Description of the Related Art
As for a conventional data transmission apparatus, there is a remote controller for a home electrical apparatuses such as a television, a video cassette recorder (VCR), an audio system, and an air conditioner. The conventional data transmission apparatus transmits data to remotely control these electrical devices utilizing infrared rays. A button is arranged for every command for operating the electrical device. Data corresponding to the depressed button is transmitted to the electrical device to make it execute the corresponding command.
However, such a conventional remote controller has the following various problems. First of all, since a plurality of remote controllers are present in a home, it tends to be troublesome to put each of the remote controllers to proper use. That is, home electrical apparatuses such as a television, a video cassette recorder, an audio system and an air conditioner have separate remote controllers, and hence a user has to possess as many remote controllers as the number of home electrical devices that the user possesses. As a result, it can be inconvenient to use the apparatuses. In addition, a second problem is such that since a large number of buttons for transmitting various commands are arranged in one remote controller, it takes a long time for the user to perfectly master manipulation of a remote controller. Furthermore, a third problem is such that since the buttons arranged in the remote controller have one-to-one correspondence to the commands, the presence of the buttons for the less-frequently used commands becomes useless.
In addition, a fourth problem is such that since the remote controller can be readily touched even by a child, an unexpected malfunction may be caused by a child. Furthermore, a fifth problem is that, for example, in the case where a plurality of people share a remote controller for a single air conditioner, the temperature setting needs to be changed whenever the user of the remote controller changes. That is, with respect to setting the temperature for an air conditioner, the temperature setting at which a user feels comfortable is different for different people, and hence the temperature needs to be reset depending on the person.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a data transmission apparatus and a method thereof capable of readily carrying out command transmission for controlling an electrical device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission apparatus and a method thereof capable of transmitting a plurality of commands without a user""s complicated operation.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission apparatus and a method thereof capable of specifying a person who operates the apparatus for data transmission.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission apparatus and a method thereof capable of integrating a remote controlling function for a plurality of electrical devices.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a data transmission apparatus and a method thereof capable of independently operating for a plurality of people.
In order to achieve the above objects, a data transmission apparatus of an embodiment of the present invention comprises a storage unit for storing control data for controlling an electrical device and a fingerprint feature of a user""s finger, wherein the control data is associated with the fingerprint feature, a fingerprint reader for acquiring the fingerprint feature of the user""s finger, and a transmitter for reading out the stored control data from the storage unit in accordance with the fingerprint feature acquired by the fingerprint reader as transmission data and transmitting the transmission data to the electrical device.
In order to achieve the above objects, a method of transmitting control data for controlling an electrical device, according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprises acquiring a fingerprint feature of a user""s finger, reading out a control data from a storage unit in accordance with the acquired fingerprint feature, and transmitting the control data read out from the storage unit to the electrical device.